Bradford City skipper Gary Jones spoke to the Telegraph & Argus ahead of his side's League One match against Carlisle at Brunton Park on Tuesday evening, Jones looking for the Bantams to make a quick start tomorrow night:
“The first goal is massive. Football is all about momentum but we can’t seem to get it at the moment. It takes the wind out of your sails to go behind all the time. The one we conceded on Saturday was sloppy and could have been avoided. But we ground out a result in the end and now we can dust ourselves down for the Carlisle game.
“My two goals against Crewe were a couple of swingers really. I just threw my right and left feet at them and fortunately the ball flew in at a decent time. Aaron Mclean deserves a lot of credit because they were two great lay-offs. I didn’t have to break a stride and just took a pop. Going 2-0 down was a massive disappointment, especially conceding the first goal that was terrible.
“But, we’ve got spirit and character and players that never give up. It was a good point in the end. We’ve been down a few times this season and managed to get back in games. But, we shouldn’t be scoring three at home and not winning. It would be nice the other way round if we got a 2-0 head start. Unfortunately it’s not to be at the moment.
“Their young goalkeeper [Ben Garratt] was unbelievable and his stock’s gone up after that game – he’s probably worth £1million already! He made two or three great point-blank saves. That’s the way it’s been going and we just can’t get that elusive win. But if we keep plodding on and creating chances it surely can’t be far away.”
In team news for City tomorrow they will be definitely missing two players, while they also have doubts over another. Left-back James Meredith being sidelined with a broken metatarsal bone in his right foot he suffered during training in January, while winger Kyel Reid is absent after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in the same month.
Centre-half Rory McArdle meanwhile missed the Crewe game on Saturday with a cut eye due to a clash of heads in training, but there is an outside chance he will be in the matchday squad tomorrow. Definitely back available for the Bantams though is right-back Nathan Doyle who saw out a one-match ban during the 3-3 draw with the Railwaymen.
The referee for tomorrow evening's match is Geoff Eltringham from Sunderland and he will be assisted down the lines by Matthew Dicicco from Middlesbrough and Geoffrey Liddle from Darlington. Meanwhile, completing the north-eastern quartet, the fourth official is Ross Joyce from Middlesbrough.